Tom laughed in glee when he saw the mermaid's reaction.
The mermaid noticed his expression and she pouted her mouth. "How dare you think of such things in this sacred place?"
"That's your fault for annoying me."
"Humph!" She huffed and puffed as she smacked her tail in the air, flying into the distance.
Tom shook his head. "Corduul, how is the progress?"
"The drones have scanned 89% of the books in this library."
"That was quick."
"This is not the first library we have scanned."
"That explain it," Tom replied. "Is the Mechanicum still actively gathering knowledge?"
"We have never stopped since we arrive on this continent, master. The knowledge that we gather is proving to be useful."
"In what ways?"
"Mostly in biologies and craftmanship. But it also helps in our diplomatic needs. We have feed Ruhnan Noku with the necessary information for him to make advantageous deals under our name."
"What about potions formula? Spells? Secret treasures? Creation of unique magic?"
"We don't have the division for that, master."
"Hmmm, indeed. We don't have anyone that is competent enough for those roles. Except if we got Fordemvak as our Potion Makers."
"The Mechanicum is capable of synthesizing most of the potions."
"Yes, but it will not be as good as magicians doing it. Creating potions is not as simple as combining and mixing the same materials over and over again. It's about adding spirit, magic, mana, and the essence of the universe. Technologies cannot do all of that."
"That is true. The potions we create is not as high quality as what the magicians made, but it's cheaper and faster to mass produce."
Tom was intrigued. "Well, we can sell those mass produced product cheaply, then put the expensive product on the luxury shelf."
"Yes, that is what we and Tarrar have discussed."
"Tarrar, that man is always quick regarding business."
"He has open a lot of potion shops already."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, master. He even set up the robots as wandering merchants, selling all kinds of items to adventurers."
"Has he went out of the kingdom?"
"The wandering merchants division has indeed expanded outside the kingdom."
"Is it possible for them to gather information?"
"It is. But we have to be a lot more careful."
"That's fine. It still would help us knowing what to do next with sufficient data."
Corduul and Tom talked about business for a while until Corduul spoke: "Master, the scanning process is over. You can now leave the premise."
"Finally." Tom flipped his hand, and all the micro drones flew back to him, entering his sleeve.
Then suddenly, one of the micro drone was picked up by a pair of gigantic finger.
Tom looked and saw that it was the mermaid that picked it up.
"What is this tiny little thing? It's not dust or dirt." The mermaid tilted her head left and right as she tried to find out what it was.
'Crap!' Tom cursed in his heart. "Corduul, deactivate that micro drone."
"It's done, master. Should we let it initiate a self-destruct protocol?"
"No. The whole library might be alarmed. Just let it be."
The mermaid's eyes shone and then it peered through the micro drones. Inside, she saw complex mechanism of devices sending electric signals all over the place. "What kind of creature are you?"
Tom slowly turned around and floated down to the ground, hoping the mermaid wouldn't notice him.
"Hey, you! Where are you going?" The mermaid approached him.
"I am leaving. I got something to do."
The mermaid frowned and tried to read his mind again, but to no avail. "You are very good at hiding your mind."
"Won't you get in trouble for reading people's mind?"
"I am the Keeper of this library."
Tom sighed. "Whatever. I am not coming here ever again."
"Humph! That's good then. I don't want this sacred place be sullied by your dirty thoughts."
The mermaid flung the micro drones into the air, and it quickly flew into Tom's sleeve.
She huffed and puffed before leaving.
"What a weird mermaid," Tom said. He then connected his mind to all of his friends and spoke through telepathy: "Guys, I am going home first."
"Sure, Tom," They all replied.
Tom walked out of the library immediately. He was afraid of being caught. Today was a fruitful day. Scanning all the information within Withokere's most prestigious university would make him able to create a school of his own.
In fact, he might trade some of these knowledge with someone outside the kingdom. Magicians traded knowledges all the time. Since the currency such as crystals and secret treasures sometimes were not enough, they traded valuable knowledge instead.
As Tom walked outside the library, he saw his mother walking with Fordemvak side by side.
Armaita stopped and then looked at the teacher. "It's very nice talking to you. But this is where we have to part ways."
The teacher nodded. "I understand. You are a very busy person."
"Isn't that everybody?" Armaita laughed.
"Right." Fordemvak laughed back.
Magicians were very busy learning and practicing their skill. Only rarely did they have time for pleasure and entertainment. In fact, a lot of them consider studying and improving their skill as a fun activity.
"I am taking my leave now. See you later," Armaita said with a coquettish voice.
"I will be seeing you again." Fordemvak nodded.
Armaita giggled before a portal appeared behind her. She turned around and entered the portal.
Tom walked to the teacher. "So? What happen now?"
"Your mother and I have reached a great deal. I will be responsible for making the potions and your mother will be responsible for selling it. The name of my shops will also be changed for your brand."
"What about the profit?"
"It's fifty fifty."
"I see." Tom almost wanted to laugh inside. Making high-quality potion was extremely hard. For Fordemvak to even agree on 50-50 split was crazy!
With Fordemvak's skill, he should be able to negotiate a 90-10 percent deal, and Aldred would have agreed. The profit for selling a high-quality potion was tremendous. It could even be priced at one hundred times the price of the ingredients required to make it.
It didn't even make sense for Fordemvak to agree on this kind of deal.
'Man, the power of charming woman is really scary.'
"Do you need anything from me, Tom?" Fordemvak asked.
"Ah, no, sir."
"In that case, I will take my leave. Tell me if your mother wanted to visit me. I will make time."
"Okay." Tom gave him a thumbs up.
The teacher smiled and walked away.
Tom's eyes flashed. 'You want my mother! Haha! On your dream!'
Although Armaita was actually a clone of his, it still pissed him off!
"Haish, whatever. I need to get back and study."
…
Armaita appeared inside an office. Sitting on the sofa was a handsome and dignified bugbear wearing a tuxedo.
"Wow. This is your clone?" Tarrar asked.
Armaita put her hand over his mouth and giggled. "Yes, what do you think?"
"Fuck. You even talk like a proper woman."
"My wives have been teaching me this."
"Ah, no wonder. So what is the deal?"
"Fifty percent profit."
Tarrar was silent at first, and then he burst into laughter. "Are you serious? Fifty percent? Hahaha! You make me want to turn myself into a woman."
"You don't have to. I assign this clone to assist you in the money-making department."
"Hoo. How many clones can you make in total?"
"Right now only 5. Three is already used: Tom, Armaita, and the clone Aldred that is now sitting on his throne."
"The real Aldred is still hiding in the divine dimension?"
"It's too dangerous to go out right now. The more I learn about this world, the more I wanted to stay in the divine dimension. But do not worry. As long as the clone increased its strength, the real Aldred will improve at the same rate."
"That's scarily convenient," Tarrar replied. "What about your wives?"
"They are pampered with the knowledge we obtain from this continent and is also supported with all kinds of treasures, herbs, potions, and elixirs. I will make sure my wives are not left behind."
"How strong are they now?"
"All of them are currently at mid Diamond Rank, but soon they will reach high Diamond Rank."
"How much resources do you spend on them?" Tarrar said in disbelief.
"I lost count. But all of them are very talented. Extremely talented. So it's not taking them a very long time to improve."
"Hmmm, their strength are limited by the lack of resources before, but here, it's a world full of abundance."
"Indeed," Armaita replied.
"So, Tom's task is to study in the university, Armaita's task is to assist me in business, what's Aldred clone's job?"
"He is in the Empire-building business."
"Empire-Building?"
Armaita smiled. Her beautiful face made the room a little brighter. "He is in charge of war and diplomacy. With Corduul as his general and Ruhnan as his emissary, we should be able to expand our influence even more."
…
Aldred sat in his throne. This wasn't the real Aldred. But a clone of himself he created to manage his territory. Well, it was kind of wrong to call them clones since all of them is Aldred himself.
They had no different thought process, and the real Aldred could receive all of their memories in real-time. Aldred's brain was powerful enough to do that now. Like a computer's processor, his brain could multi-task like never before.
Corduul walked towards the throne and then knelt. "Master, the king of Withokere has declared war against the Dominion of Ber. This is your chance to show your power."
Tom's eyes flashed. He raised his hand, Phantom Doomblade appeared, covered in flame. He pushed the blade to the ground, helping him to stand up.
"Prepare the army."
